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Where To Stay In Florence

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It’s been argued by Italian economists who study such matters that the wealthiest Florentine families in 1427 are the same wealthiest families today. Even if just mostly true, it’s a narrative of fortitude, luck and a rock-like resistance to change. Famous native son, philosopher and forefather of Italian literature Dante Alighieri felt the brunt of this Florentine establishment’s ire. Banned for life for his role in the Guelph-Ghibelline wars, he was ultimately sentenced in absentia to death by his opponents, the victorious Ghibbelines. Dante never forgave his fellow Florentines, which is why his amusing circles of Hell are chock full of his many local enemies.

For its part, Florence didn’t get around to commuting Dante’s death sentence with a full pardon until half a millennium later, in 2008. The takeaway? Much as we love the Renaissance, when you get on the bad side of the law in Florence, they don’t let go of the grudge.

These great Florentine hoteliers, however, will keep you well free of any politically motivated prosecutions or deportations, because you'll be having entirely too much lawful fun eating, drinking, and being pampered to think of agitating for revolution as the waspish Dante so routinely did.

Here’s where to stay in his erstwhile hometown:

The St. Regis Florence

The 81-room-17-suite St. Regis, on the banks of the Arno just west of the center, is housed in a converted palazzo, in this case built by the Giuntini family, yet another of Florence’s prosperous old merchant families. Quite early in the 19th century it was transformed into a hotel and hosted no less a fan of Renaissance studies than Queen Victoria herself. In 2011 it came under the St. Regis banner with all that entails. Today that includes a Michelin-starred restaurant, a razor-sharp concierge staff and the super-plush decor that Queen Victoria herself would not find out of place. The St. Regis bartenders actually saber the Champagne every evening. You want that. The cling-and-pop of the saber blow on the neck of the flagon of Krug will give the night that follows a certain high gyroscopic spin.

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Portrait Firenze

Much has been written, but not enough can be said about, Portrait Firenze, the all-suite property hanging over the river on the western flank of the Ponte Vecchio. With just 14 suites and an award-winning restaurant in Chef Alessio Mori’s Caffe dell’Oro, the Portrait has swiftly become a staple on the global travel awards lists. The amazing spaces, and their picture-postcard views, is the draw. There’s no spa, but the focus here is on living room-style comfort and purity in dining.

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Baglioni Relais Santa Croce

The intimate 18th-century Palazzo Ciofi Jacometti is still in private hands, but with its 24 suites and its two stellar restaurants, it has been drawing the great and the good for some years now, reportedly among them Placido Domingo, Kate Moss, and, when the going was good, Brangelina. Next door, with access through the lobby, is Florence’s renowned Enoteca Pinchiorri, boasting its 100,000-bottle cellar and three Michelin stars. Surrounded by great Florentine restaurants, in the Relais Santa Croce, you won’t be straying far for the food.

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Il Salviatino

Literally translated, the name of this 18th-century villa in the hills (ten minutes north of Florence) is “the sage jar,” but actually it’s the family name of one of the villa’s many 18th- and 19th-century owners. The property is a 12-acre estate, with formal gardens and a two-level outdoor pool, a spa, and 44 rooms and suites. Florence is just down the hill, framed in view by the cascading gardens. Il Salviatino is now owned by designer and event planner Alessandra Rovati Vitali, who has turned a portion of the historical gardens into an organic farm for the in-house restaurant. The staff will take you truffle hunting in the forests—so now Il Salviatino earns the agricultural ring of its sobriquet.

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The Brunelleschi

The Brunelleschi comes by its name honestly, the building having been owned at one time by Filippo Brunelleschi, modestly described by the hotel as the “author of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore.” But put another way, Brunelleschi’s excellently converted medieval house is just down the street from the architect/artist’s most celebrated and technologically advanced Renaissance work, the dome of Florence’s major cathedral. Theoretically, you could live in Brunelleschi’s house, then sprint up and down the 463 steps inside his famous dome for a brisk stair workout every morning. Incorporated into the hotel is the 6th-century Pagliazza Tower, a remnant of the old city walls that now houses one of the Brunelleschi’s major suites, the gourmet restaurant Santa Elisabetta, a meeting room and the Osteria Pagliazza. Book that suite subito, as the Florentines put it—immediately.

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Palazzo Castri 1874

Slightly north of the Piazza del Duomo, the Palazzo Castri puts a focus on its restorative features, which include an indoor-outdoor hydromassage pool and a fine spa with all the trimmings, which include a Finnish sauna and a Turkish bath. The pool extends from within the spa into the lemon tree-lined garden. The in-house Florentia Cafe is your bright lunch break, and in the warm months one dines in La Limonaia, as the lemon-tree garden is called. Thoroughly civilized, the Palazzo Castri is there to put you right between forays into the Renaissance.

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The Four Seasons Hotel Firenze

The noble Gherardesca family, originally among the rulers of Pisa, were prime actors in the Guelph-Ghibelline wars and moved to Florence. When Ugo della Gherardesca married Costanza de Medici in 1605, the couple received this magnificent palazzo as a starter home—along with the largest private garden in Florence, the Giardino della Gherardesca, which generously rings the villa and now houses the Four Seasons’ capacious swimming pool nestled in among the garden’s ancient formal glories. The Four Seasons opened the grand place, built in the 15th century, with 117 rooms, 44 of which are suites, in 2008. The spa and restaurants are world-class, the art and fixtures are period, and there you are, living like the Gherardesca-Medicis in the middle of your private acreage in the center of Florence. If you’re touring the fabulous palazzi of Florence anyway, book a suite here and have the concierge set up a tour of your own abode.

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